Ruth Altman Escrows Inc

A Valencia escrow firm has been seized by state regulators after a routine audit found that an estimated $164,000 was missing from the firm's trust-fund account. Ruth Altman Escrows Inc. is being run by a conservator, Allen Eggers, after being seized March 5, said Dale Lucas, chief examiner for the state Department of Corporations. The firm has operated in Valencia for 10 years, he said.

A Valencia escrow firm has been seized by state regulators after a routine audit found that an estimated $164,000 was missing from the firm's trust-fund account. Ruth Altman Escrows Inc. is being run by a conservator, Allen Eggers, after being seized March 5, said Dale Lucas, chief examiner for the state Department of Corporations. The firm has operated in Valencia for 10 years, he said.

State regulators shut down the city's largest residential escrow company, disrupting thousands of home sales, after a routine examination uncovered more than $2 million missing from the firm's $4.5-million trust fund. Officials of the state Department of Corporations have frozen the remaining assets of the firm, Country Oaks Escrow, as inspectors comb the company's financial books.